


Continue Reaching Out

by Babs_Lou



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23780974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babs_Lou/pseuds/Babs_Lou
Summary: This could definitely stand alone or be a follow-up to my last work.  I had intended to write a different follow-up to it, but lost inspiration.  So after starting the show back up after hiatus my inspiration returned.  Even though they’ve tried to kill the idea of Frank and Laurel I just can’t accept it.  So here ya go.**spoilers thru Season 6 episode 12**
Relationships: Laurel Castillo/Frank Delfino
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

It felt good, loving someone who loved him just as he was, knowing every single thing about him and loving him anyway. Laurel had crushed him. Crushed his soul. He showed her every part of himself, because she had asked, and he wanted to believe she could still love him anyway. But he could see the change as soon as he’d confessed to her what he’d done. A wall went up that he knew he couldn’t scale. So he left.

He let himself wonder for a moment. What if he hadn’t left... what if he’d stayed and fought for her. Would things be different now? He shook himself out of that thought. He was with Bonnie now. And it was comfortable. It was like home. He never thought anyone would love him like she did. 

His mind wandered again, picturing Laurel in some sticky hot third world market place, holding Christopher, the little boy smiling and giggling. His throat felt tight. And he forced himself to picture Bonnie instead.

Xavier didn’t know where Laurel was. Teagan was the only one who might have any idea, and she swore she didn’t. What if Xavier did know something.... 

Nate gets in the car.  
They sit there in silence.

“I’m tryin to be patient, but you’re scarin me a little.”  
“He confessed. Said it was all the governor.”  
“That’s good. He say he would testify to that in court?”  
“Nope.”  
“Cause you didn’t ask?”  
“Cause I took care of it.”  
“What did you do?“  
“Nate, what the hell did you do?”  
“What did you do?”

Frank feels sick to his core. There’s not much that gets to him. But he hasn’t felt like this since Laurel and Christopher disappeared. This could be it. Any chance any of them had of staying out of prison could be gone now. What the hell did Nate do?! He slams his fists on his steering wheel and tries to pull himself together and think.

He calls Annalise. She’s always thinking one step ahead. She doesn’t answer. He starts driving to her place anyway.

Frank’s phone vibrates as he receives a text message. He doesn’t notice it. A minute later his phone is ringing. He picks it up to look at the caller ID - unknown. He puts it back down as he pulls into Annalise’s driveway. 

Nate gets out of the car and calmly walks inside. Frank takes a deep breath. He has a nagging feeling about the phone call. There’s a text message: “I’m not sure if Michaela told you about my call. I’m sorry for leaving the way I did. But I need to talk to you. It can’t wait.”

He knows right away it’s Laurel. He forgets about everything else. He didn’t think he’d ever hear from her again. He couldn’t let himself think that way. She had crushed him. He’d been tortured for her. But here she was. And he felt a small piece of hope returning. He tried to push it down, remembering Bonnie, and how he would never want to hurt her. But... he let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Laurel.... was she ok? Did she need him? 

Nate’s voice breaks into his thoughts “what is it?”  
“Nothin.” He shoves his phone into his pocket as they go inside.

“Did you get what we needed?” Annalise says when they get there.  
“He killed him, Annalise. Nate killed Xavier.”  
Silence...  
“Annalise?”  
“After all you’ve done, I handed you this. And this was the choice you made?”  
Nate looks a little ashamed, but not for long. He’s blinded by his anger.

Bonnie walks in the room. She hadn’t heard what they were saying, but could tell something terrible had happened, again. “Xavier’s dead?”

She looks at Frank. His eyes lock onto hers and he shakes his head. She looks at Nate, his face hard as stone. She’s pissed too. And not sure if she should be mad at Frank - could he have done this after telling her he loved her? Or Nate - he was already responsible for Ron, and now this? Or Annalise - how could she possibly think this was a good idea? Unless she knew what would happen.... but why? Annalise always has a plan. But how could this possibly be part of it?

“It was Nate. Annalise states flatly. And now he’s going to help us...”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!

It was dark now. Frank was driving home alone. He was feeling a little more optimistic. And sleep oughtta help. Bonnie had stayed with Annalise. She said it was to continue coming up with a plan but he sensed it was something more. There was a hint of something there, like she was just a little unsure if she believed it was Nate that killed Xavier and not Frank. 

He would have tried harder to reassure her, but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about the message. Could he even reassure her right now? He knew it wasn’t fair to Bonnie. But as much as he loved her, he had never stopped loving Laurel. 

He was exhausted. He unlocked the door. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Something felt off, like he was being watched or... Someone was in the house. Before he could make a move someone grabbed his arms from behind. It wasn’t difficult for him to maneuver himself around and pin them up against the wall. One hand had her arm twisted behind her back and the other hand at her throat. 

His breath caught tight in his chest. His grip eased, became gentle. Her breathing was quick and he finally let out his own breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. His thumb slowly grazed her skin. He was immediately hard and hated himself for it. Ah just the smell of her... 

“Frank..” she said quietly as she slid her free hand up his chest, his neck, to his jaw. Tears in her eyes. 

“Damnit Laurel I could have killed you.”

“No... you couldn’t,” she whispered as she slowly came closer. Their mouths crashed into each other, hands exploring hungrily. They kissed like it could be their last chance. 

Frank pulled away first, panting. “Damnit!” He raked his fingers through his hair. 

Laurel looked hurt. But she quickly covered her response with one of sympathy. “I know you’re with Bonnie.” She looked down, couldn’t make eye contact and let him see how it hurt her. 

But Frank felt it anyway. He felt sick. He was hurting Laurel and Bonnie right now, even if Bonnie didn’t know it yet. The two women he wanted to protect more than he wanted to live. 

Laurel looked into his eyes then. And she saw it even in the dark it was easy to see. Anger. Hurt. Confusion. Disbelief. And something else she couldn’t figure out. 

“I know I owe you an explanation.”

His expression softened a little then and he took another step back, hoping the distance would help him think more clearly. But it hurt him inside to move away from her, when he’d wanted to be close to her now for so long. 

He smiled a little, for her benefit, and to try to convince himself. “Nah ya don’t. We were done. You were protecting Christopher. There’s nothing I wanted more than that.”

She clung to his words to ease her own guilt. But she knew it wasn’t the whole truth. Did he?

“Frank..” she took a step towards him and touched his face. 

His eyes looked a little colder all the sudden. “Laurel, you don’t. I get it alright. What I don’t get is what you are doin here now. It’s not safe for you or Christopher.” 

Then his mind snaps back to reality. He feels sick again thinking about what it might mean that Nate killed Xavier. And part of him feels regret that he wasn’t the one to do it himself. 

“Christopher is safe. I had to come back. I’ve seen the news. I had to make sure everyone knew I didn’t go to the FBI. I had to make sure you knew....”

“I knew it wasn’t you. It was doucheface.”

“Asher... that’s why...” 

“Oh no princess that isn’t why. You don’t know the half of it.”

Laurel nodded slowly. Nothing was ever what it seemed, or what you would think.

“The FBI wants to take Annalise down. They were workin with your brother and your daddy of course.”

Her brow furrowed. “What can I do to help?”

“You can go back to where you came from. And take care of that little boy.” 

She knew he meant well, and cared. But it hurt anyway. She fired back, “I’m not going anywhere, until we’ve taken him down. I’m here to fight. With you. For you...”. There was a double meaning to what she said, she was pretty sure he didn’t realize. “Besides, if anything happens to me, well you and I both know Christopher would have a better shot at a safe, normal life without me.”

She really believed that. “Nah your his ma. Nothin matters more than that.” But there might have been some truth to what she said. He might be safer. And Laurel being here may give them an extra card in the deck. But a babe belongs with his ma... 

Laurel swallowed the lump in her throat. She had made her mind up. She’d had plenty of time to think it through. She wasn’t turning back now. “Frank, none of us will be safe until my father is gone for good. Look at what he’s done... and he’s not finished...”

“Frank, I know about what Xavier did to you... what you went through for me...” The tears were running down her cheeks now. “Mi amor, I’m so, so, sorry...”. She gently touched his face again, then his chest and his stomach, where he’d been cut open. “Frank I didn’t just leave for Christopher. I left for you. My father was so afraid of you... the last thing he wanted was for you to be in my life. He told me...” she swallowed before she could go on. “He told me he’d make you feel Hell on earth if I didn’t leave without saying a word to you. So I left. But on my terms instead of his. And I’m sorry for what I did. But believe me it wasn’t because I didn’t love you. It was just the opposite.”

Frank felt lost and confused. When he’d found out she had left with Tegan’s help he never considered she might still love him. He was just so hurt. She had taken away his whole world. But he was with Bonnie now... he didn’t deserve someone like Laurel. 

“Frank, the things I’ve said to you are unforgivable. Leaving you, well, maybe we are even for that.” She made an attempt at humor and they both gave a half smile at that.

“I love you Frank. I always have. Nothing ever changed that. And it’s not because you’re like my father. He is pure evil.” 

“Your heart...” she pressed her hand to his chest, “makes you a good man.” 

He wanted to believe her. Believe that he was good enough for her.

She kept going, “The way you love, the way you love Christopher, the way you loved me, it makes me want to be more like you.”

It sounded ridiculous to him. But it also sounded so so good. 

She could tell he was hearing her, weighing her words. She knew there was nothing she could really say to make right what she’d done to him all this time. But she needed him to know how much she loved him.

“I love you, and I need you to know that. Please know that?” she was pleading with him now.

It hurt him inside to hold himself back. “Awe to hell,” he pulled her close and kissed her desperately again, feeling all her familiar curves. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He stumbled over to the couch and laid her down, holding his weight above her, he pulled back again. “I love you too, Laurel. More than anything.” She lifted her head up as she pulled his face down to kiss him. 

Laurel tried to shift so she could be on top but Frank held her there. Their gaze met again, and her hands were pulling his shirt up as his slid up her dress. It had been far too long... She ached inside. Couldn’t wait to feel his skin against hers, his hard hot body against her, inside her. 

His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. Was this real or a dream? He didn’t care as long as it didn’t end before he had the chance to touch and taste every inch of her body, to fill her.

They both moaned as he thrust inside her. Somehow she felt even better than he remembered. She pulled herself up and whispered in his ear, “either fuck me harder or let me ride you.” He moaned again and gladly gave in to her request. He thrust harder and faster and hoped he’d be able to last long enough for them both. It was always a challenge with her, even more now. Just as he was about to give in to her being on top, she began to moan and thrust her hips erratically. He stopped holding back, and he kissed her hungrily as they came together. 

The waves of pleasure were still coming as he whispered in her ear “I never stopped lovin you Princess.”


End file.
